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1. STUR TEVANT. DRIVING DEVICE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 16. 1918.

1,325,384. Patented Dec.1,1919.

UNITED srxrne PATENT OFFICE.

JESSE B. STURTEVANT, orn-Awrom 'rown.

DRIVING nnvrcn.

Specification of Letters Patent. P t t e 0516,1919.

Application filed March 16, 1918. Serial No. 222,879.

vehicle tongue and operated by a cord or cable for urging a teamforward, the device having means for prodding the team on the haunches.

Another object seeks the provision of a.

device of this character which is simple in construction, durable andefiective in operation, and inexpensive to manufacture.

. Other and further objects are in part obvious, and in part hereinafterset forth.

To the exact construction in which it is shown and described, theinvention is notto be restricted. The right is reserved to make suchchanges or alterations as the actual reduction to practice may demand,in so far as such changes or alterations are comprehended in spirit bythe annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation to show the practical applicationof the invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a central horizontal longitudinal sectional view through thedevice.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown,

a tongue 1 which is connected in the usual way to the forward end of asecond tongue 2. The invention is designed primarily to be used whereteams are driven in tandem, so that a means may be had by the driver tourge those teams forward which are not within reach of the usual whip.For the purpose of illustration, let the tongue 1 be the tongue carriedbetween the two horses of the foremost team of two or more teams intandem. The tongue 2 is then the tongue of the team directly behind thelead or foremost team. Since the gait set by the lead team will bequickly taken up by the following teams, a device for urging the leadteam forward is all that is necessary to accelerate the speed of theteams.

The invention provides a convenient device of this kind. There are twobrackets or supports 3 carried on top of the tongue 1 behind the doubletree at of the latter. Carried between these two supports 3, there is atubular member 5 into which there is telescoped a rod member 6, the-rodmember projecting through the forward end of the tubular member andbeing mounted for slidable longitudinal movement therein. On one side,preferably on the right, the tubular member is provided with alongitudinal slot 7 through which an ear 8 protrudes, the latter beingan integral part of the rod 6 and being carried at that end of thelatter which is interior to the tubular member 5. Since the tubularmember is designed to be held stationary, the protrusion of the ear 8through the slot 7 serves to prevent angular movement of the rod 6 inthe tubular member. Therefore the transverse member 9 which is formedintegrally with the rod at its outer end is retained in a horizontalplane, or in the plane in which the top face of the tongue 1 lies, sincethe device as a whole, is mounted in the first instance to have thissaid transverse member positioned as recited above. The transversemember 9 is provided with laterally projecting prongs 10 which point inthe direction of the length of the rod 6 and are designed to prod theanimals, one of which is on either side of the tongue 1, in the hauncheswhen the device is operated.

ln its normal position, the rod member 6 is carried almost wholly withinthe tubular member 5, thus drawing the transverse member 9 close to theforward support 3. This normal position of the rod member is attainedthrough the instrumentality ofa compression spring 11 which bears, oneend against the ear 8, and the other end against he forward support 3.When the rod member 6 is moved forward, as it is when the device isoperated, it moves against the tension of the spring 11, and provisionis made for effecting this forward movement from the drivers seat, thisby providing a cable 12 which is attached, one end to the ear 8 and thentrained over a pulley 13 carried by the forward support 3, and then ledback to the drivers seat. Thus the driver is enabled to exert a pull onthe cable 12, causing it to move the rod 6 forward against the tensionof the spring 11, when the prongs 1.0 are brought into contact with andprod the haunohes of the animals composing the lead team. Relaxing thepull on the cable 12, allows the rod member to resume its normalposition, thus moving the transverse member 9 and its prongs 10 backaway from the animals.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, theoperation and utility of the invention is made apparent, and furtherdescription therefore, is omitted.

The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and usefulis:

1. A device as set forth comprising a pair of supports adapted forattachment on the top face of a tongue to the rear of the double tree, atubular member carried between the supports, a rod mounted in thetubular member and adapted for sliding movement longitudinally therein,the rod being provided at one end with a transverse member lying in aplane parallel with the plane of the top face ofthe tongue and providedwith laterally projecting prongs extending in the direction of thelength of the tongue, resilient means for holding the rod membernormallywithin the tubular member, and means adapted to be operated by a driverto move the rod longitudinally forward.

2. A device as set forth comprising a pair of supports adapted forattachment on the top face of a tongue to the rear of the double tree, atubular member carried between the supports, a rod mounted in thetubular member and adapted for sliding movement longitudinally therein,the rod being provided at one end with a transverse member lying in aplane parallel with the plane of the top face of the tongue and providedwith laterally projecting irong's extending in the direction of thetongue, a spring within the tubular member and having one end bearingagainst the forward support, the rod having a laterally projecting earat its rear end against which the other end of the spring bears, thetubular member having a longitudinal slot through which the ear projectsand in which it is slidingly carried, a cable having one end secured tothe ear, and a pulley on the forward support over which the cable istrained, so that its remaining end may be carried to the drivers seat ofthe vehicle in conjunction with which the device is used.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JESSE B. STURTEVANT.

